Trailer Hitch
By BOP Staff
June 16, 2011
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Brett Beach: I guess the only question I had going into this trailer was: Could it make me reverse my decision, after slogging through New Moon and Eclipse, to ixnay the last two films? Answer: No, it could not. There is apparently the long awaited vampire-human wedding, vampire-human bedbreaking nuptial sex, and vampire-human bun in the oven. Jacob is tortured, Edward looks only slightly less tortured. I give props to an Oscar winner for seeing this series through at its end, but my interest level has not perked back up.
Jason Dean: Where the hell is Ashley Greene?
Bruce Hall: You know what I hated about Superman Returns? Emo Superman. You know what I hate about Twilight? Emo Vampires and Emo Werewolves. Or are they Lycans? Do I have the wrong Saga? And who decided this was a "Saga"? At least we know they're going to be in Rio because they did a helicopter flyby of Christ the Redeemer. This is not only very original, but is the only way to alert the audience they're in Brazil. You know, kind of like the way you have to get that Ratner shot of the Eiffel Tower or else the audience will have no idea that they're seeing Paris. They might think it's Cairo. Or Walla Walla Washington. Maybe Bella will even go to the grocery store and come back with celery stalks and French bread sticking out of the bag. Maybe sad Werewolf Boy will say something clever like "We're not really so different, you and I..."
I don't know. I tried to think of something non-snarky to say, but I just can't do it. Have fun kids, but count me out.
Jim Van Nest: Okay, so I sat down with my wife and I've watched the first two Twilight films. What I can say about this trailer is that it looks worlds better than those movies did. You can tell there is way more cash put into them now. Honestly, people hate on Twilight pretty bad, so I'm not going to jump on that bandwagon. I'll just say that if you hate Twilight, you'll hate this trailer and then you'll hate this movie. If you're a fan, I would think that this gives you everything you need to see to be super psyched for Breaking Dawn to drop in November.
David Mumpower: I love the internal logic of Jacob's character in this trailer. The woman he loves is betrothed to another man. What is his most natural behavior during such a tumultuous moment? He rips off his shirt and runs. Yes, a clothed man would not seem as anguished as someone topless. Nothing says heartbreak like a sprinting teen with six-pack abs.
I would have thought the Twilight Saga would eventually stop providing laughs such as this. It's nice to know that there are at least two more movies worth of them.
Green With Envy
Brett Beach: Green with Envy looks like a charming rom com that could best be described as Leap Year meet Valentine's Day, but what the f%@k are Muppets doing in it? (I jest.) This is a cute teaser for the return of Kermit et al, maybe a little too much of GWE vs our beloved heroes, but why carp? It gives me hope that Segel and Stoller had a clear vision for this reboot. (Plus, there's a 99.9% chance we won't see Segel's penis in a Disney film.)
Edwin Davies: As soon as Jason Segel said, "Wait, are there Muppets in this movie?" I was pretty much sold on this new film. It looks like they have a good sense of the self-awareness that both the show and the old films had, and even though there isn't really enough here for us to get a sense of what the film will actually be like (I wouldn't be surprised if none of the first half of the trailer is actually in the final film) it has the feel of a Muppet movie.
David Mumpower: Along the lines of Edwin's thoughts, the key to the element of surprise here is the voice-over narration. The confusion of the announcer as he deduces the subject matter is integral to how funny the reveal is. I think this is the best narration since Jerry Seinfeld's Comedian trailer (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Brett Beach: First off, I think the "bootleg" red band trailer that was released a day before this, and resembled either something videotaped illicitly in a movie theater, or more perversely, one of Nine Inch Nails' snuff like videos for some of their early singles, was genius. This is pretty much that cleaned up, and I think it does the job of a teaser trailer. Build some excitement among a) the segment of the population who have not read or perhaps heard of the book and b) try to sway those who have read the book and seen the Swedish trilogy into giving it a shot. I think it was smart to have images but no dialogue snippets, as the raw and harsh cover of "Immigrant Song" by Karen O and Trent Reznor playing in the background helps provide a music video type feel. I still have no idea if releasing this during the holiday season makes any kind of business sense, but wearing the mantle of "the feel bad movie of Christmas" is the kind of dark jab I expect from David Fincher.
Bruce Hall: I think it works, for a teaser. I have a friend who has been all OVER the marketing for this film, complaining incessantly that Rooney Mara doesn't look exactly precisely 100 percent the way Lisbeth Salander is described in the books, therefore this is going to be a complete disaster. I just don't have the heart to tell him she's not a real person.
But I think this trailer, and the posters released with it, are not designed for fanboys who burned through all three books twice in one weekend. It's designed to appeal to more casual moviegoers who may not know what this story is about but perhaps are fans of Daniel Craig and/or Rooney Mara. And, it probably appeals to fans of Led Zeppelin, Nine Inch Nails and super fast music video edits. For a first fleeting taste, I think it was effective. It hits you viscerally and leaves you wondering when there will be more. Welcome back to the dark, Mr. Fincher.
Edwin Davies: It's very effective, both as a trailer in and of itself and as a way for Fincher to set out his stall and show how visually different his vision of the story will be compared to the Swedish films. His take seems to be more dynamic and visceral, which makes for a really impactful trailer that appeals to newbies and old-hands equally. Top it off with that great cover of Immigrant Song and one of the ballsiest taglines in an age, and you have a pretty exciting first glimpse.
David Mumpower: I am a huge fan of the books, perhaps not as much as Bruce's friend but I did import The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest rather than wait six months for its North American release. I felt that the problem with the Swedish films is the unavoidable one; these books are simply too dense to adapt into two hour movies. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has the strongest concerns in this regard since it has a cast of 20+ characters who may all be involved with a murder. The Swedish film dropped that number down to four and one could be ruled out immediately if the viewer knew the original title of the first novel. Surprisingly, the third film was the one wherein any attempt at faithful adaptation was dropped in favor of action, something I expected to be more of a problem with an American adaptation than a Swedish one. If they made that determination, I have little hope for respectful American versions of these stories.
Keeping the above in mind, I was not engaged by the trailer the way the rest of you were. I understand the creative decision to discard dialogue in favor of Trent Reznor's musical accompaniment to a series of lightning quick movie edits. Most consumers will have no ability to distinguish the story from a series of stray comments from the various characters. The difficulty of such encapsulation led to this choice to focus on David Fincher's visuals, emphasizing the style over the substance. This is a marketing ploy to create interest for the franchise from consumers who are only vaguely aware of the gripping title, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
I'm sure a later trailer will explicitly define Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist, identifying why people should want to go to a movie about them. In the interim, this is like a trailer in need of a Ritalin treatment. Yes, I'm sure that there are diehards out there cutting every frame to see the key sequences such as the making of the blackmail tape, some of Lisbeth and Marian Wu's makeout sessions, and the forced tattoo. For my money, though, this trailer is agitating more than anything else. This what The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo would look like if Michael Bay directed. I expect a different vibe watching a trailer for a David Fincher film. I'm sure I'll enjoy the final product (at least somewhat), but I did not enjoy the first teaser.